Do you enjoy trivia? Feminism? Great food and drinks? If all of these things sound amazing, then come on down to Steel Plate and join the Visions in Feminism Collective for trivia night! Get to know other local activists while testing your feminist knowledge. You’ll also receive that fuzzy feeling inside upon realizing that you’re supporting a rad cause, since all donations collected during the event go towards our upcoming ViF conference.

STEEL PLATE

7-9 p.m.

3523 12th St NE, Washington, District of Columbia 20017

(please note this location has stairs, and is not wheelchair accessible)

Too often, feminism is used only as a noun; this year the VIF collective is exploring feminism as a verb and discussing the limitations of feminism being used solely as a label. By focusing on action over identity we are seeking out those working to create a culture that does not have an narrow definition of what a feminist is or what doing feminism looks like. The VIF collective’s understanding of ‘doing feminism’ is tied up in our combined experience in: food justice, reproductive justice, union organizing, and animal rights advocacy (to name a few). We hope that the conference, created (by both presenters and attendees), will be a genuine exchange of ideas, actions and challenges to our own understanding of activism.

Each year, Visions in Feminism seeks to provide a forum for diverse perspectives within a feminist framework to keep the movement relevant, inspire action by its attendees, and destabilize patriarchy and other forms of oppression.

We want to apologize for the lack of updates of the past few months. Due to scheduling realities, and VIF’s own assessment of readiness we are moving the conference to the summer, and will be having the event off of the American University Campus.

We cannot overstate how over the past six years the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies department at American University has graciously assisted with space, time, and mentorship. Our collaboration has truly shaped the collective, and the conference itself. While we move forward to create a conference this year off campus we do not want the integrity or the quality of the conference to suffer.

While we plan our upcoming event we, as always, are open to feedback and suggestions. Please let us know what you think, and reach out if you would like to attend our next meeting (currently being scheduled).

Do you have a ‘VIF’ story? The Visions in Feminism Collective has organized an annual conference in the DC area since 2001; in that time many people have come to our conferences, shared their knowledge, and shaped another person’s understanding of feminism. Maybe you’ve attended on of our conferences, happy hours, or a craft swap. Tell your story about a person you met, an idea challenged, a knitting project learned, or some interaction that follows you to this day. We are accepting submissions of 2-3 paragraphs, pictures, and art. Please submit your VIF story to: visionsinfeminism@gmail.com by July 7th!

Thank you to everyone that helped make this year’s conference possible and to all past collective members, speakers, and attendees. Your foundation of support keeps the Visions in Feminism Collective spirit going!

Feminism as a movement is often torn between a generic “Girl Power” label and overly isolating academic jargon. Both methods can distract the application of feminism from its focus. The spirit of feminism is inclusive, multi-faceted and complex. By creating space for voices from across religious, social, and political spectrums to address racism, classism, hetero and cis sex-isms we expand and infiltrate spaces that are not outwardly labeled as “feminist”. This year, the ViF conference will explore how we can bring feminism into areas of society that have been under-served by, do not openly identify with, or are unsympathetic to feminism’s goals. By focusing on these efforts, the movement can expand to reach those individuals who would not readily align themselves with feminism and successfully demonstrate the necessity of feminist approaches in continuing the anti-oppression work of the future.

Each year, Visions in Feminism seeks to provide a forum for diverse perspectives within a feminist framework to keep the movement relevant, inspire action by its attendees, and destabilize patriarchy and other forms of oppression.
We are asking that workshops be submitted via our googleform

Friday, January 25th 6-9MOVA Lounge
2204 14th Street Northwest Washington, DC 20009Drink specials include half-price wine, well cocktails and beer.
http://www.movaloungedc.com/
(just about 3 blocks from U-street metro – please note there is 1 step up from the sidewalk to enter the building)

Every year in DC “pro life’ activists descend upon the capital to protest individuals’ right to medical autonomy – and the Visions in Feminism crew hopes ur event will create an alternate space for folks to::

Thank and support our local repro-justice organizers

Give attendees a chance to reach out to their local legislatures

Learn more about the history of Roe Vs. Wade and other legislation around abortion and other Reproductive Rights issues.

Why do we keep doing the event? New legislation keeps popping up every year, and groups like the DC Abortion fund continually work to provide folks access to abortion care through providing funds (and can use the signal boost!) Most importantly, we have to work to share our history to know where we are going. The Washington Post reported this week that: Most Americans under 30 don’t know Roe was about abortion
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/01/16/most-americans-under-30-dont-know-roe-was-about-abortion/

So come drink with us –hear from the Visions in Feminism collective about the history of repro rights, hear from local activists – and mingle with awesome repro-justice warriors!

The first step in planning an awesome, engaging & challenging conference is encouraging new folks to join our collective. So come to our meet & greet on October 17th to see if you’d like to help shape the 2013 Visions in Feminism Conference

We’d also like to thank our speakers, facilitators, volunteers, attendees and previous collective members! The continuance of the Visions in Feminism Collective would not be possible without a wonderful legacy of strong, passionate feminists!